DALLAS ㅡ After breaking the world record three times in three months for most expensive video game sold, leaders at a Dallas auction house say this may be the start of what was once considered geeky, becoming big buck collectables. 

What You Need To Know

  • A mint condition copy of 1996 edition of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.56 million at Heritage Auctions

  • A mint condition copy of the Legend of Zelda from 1987 sold for $870,000.

  • Video games are becoming hot items at auction in recent years

“I wouldn’t have anticipated it would sell for $1.56 million, though here we are,” said Valarie McLeckie, holding the new world record holding game.

That most recent record breaker is a mint condition copy of 1996 edition of "Super Mario 64" still in its original box and plastic wrapping, that sold last month, as McLeckie said for $1.56 million at Heritage Auctions. About two days before, a mint condition copy of the "Legend of Zelda" from 1987 sold for $870,000.

McLeckie, a life-long gamer herself, serves as Heritage’s video game expert and said that video games are becoming hot items at auction in recent years, and the introduction of game condition ratings has pushed prices even higher from some deep-pocket collectors.

McLeckie showed off other mint condition games that would soon enter the auction blocks at Heritage, like original copies of the Pokemon games as well as other "Super Mario" favorites like "Mario Kart" and "Super Smash Brothers." The expert said the games with really iconic characters seem to have the biggest market.

It’s not just video games inspiring bidders to get into collectibles. 

Jesus Garcia, Heritage's card game expert, showed off several rare "Magic the Gathering" cards as well as unopened, first run boxes of the "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card games that he expects will be hot items at upcoming auctions.

“In these past two to three years, prices have just skyrocketed,” said Garcia.

Garcia said this stuff has always been collectable to those who are interested, but as time goes on and the properties, and what some consider geek culture, continue to grow in popularity and in pop culture, he said the rarest original items out there are catching the eyes of collectors with money and a nostalgia for the stuff.

“It’s time to buy what you like, what you couldn’t afford back when you were a kid,” he said with a laugh.

McLeckie agreed nostalgia seems to be a strong driver to buy collectables. They’ve seen the same enthusiasm for movie collectables, comics, and sports trading cards.

“I think that if we didn’t have such strong connections to these characters that were fostered in our youth, I don’t know that we would feel the same way that we do about them,” she said.

Of course, spending millions of dollars on this stuff, with no intention to open the boxes, let alone play the games inside, isn’t for everyone.

Still, it’s clear a lot of these items are starting to enter the phase of the rarest of the rare going for major cash. McLeckie said from here on out, she isn’t even trying to guess what some of these games will go for when they do hit that auction block.